The Federal Government has recently announced cut backs to its proposed paid parental leave scheme entitlements. Instead of the maximum payment being $75,000 it’s now $50,000. The way it works is this:
* Women need to have worked at least 330 hours over 10 months of the previous 13 months to be eligible
* Whatever salary they are on they get paid 26 weeks of that salary up to a maximum of $50,000
* Compare this to the scheme we have now (a legacy of the previous Labor government) which allows for 18 weeks’ paid leave at the minimum weekly wage of $622.30 which equates to $11,201 as a total payment
* All women are entitled to payment regardless of their salary ie there is no means test like there is with the current scheme (women earning over $150,000 pa are not currently eligible for any payment – this is not the case with the proposed new scheme)
* Watch this space for future announcements